I doubt they would buy it! Probably the only thing that would save us sadly.

what other option have, elland road ?
I would bet that would cost us more in renting,
fev is out of the question, donny to far

gain one point for location, but I think we would loose it as we don't reach the attendance required

I don't think we do have any other options and it guts me totally that we have ended up in this position. If we still had Belle Vue I'd go for a slow death in the lower leagues rather than going out bowing and scraping to Super League. It's been one hell of a balls up but at least it's been a fun ride.

Option are very limited and im with you in not understanding how the hell it got to this point, as you said earlier we dont make it pay in wakefield at present so how its going to pay elsewhere i have no clue, well ok it wont!
bad times.

Surely the point is we have to make it work?

We have a winner!

I'm bound to say that I can't agree with that - and I don't!

I believe Newmarket will still happen but there is a great deal of work to be done and it will not be ready for the start of the 2012 SL Season - it would not have been ready with no PI - but I do know there is a great deal of work still going on behind the scenes so all is not lost.

Timing is our real problem and we need to have a Plan B which I believe is Oakwell and I understand that we have an alternative to Oakwell which is also a SL compliant stadium.

I understand those who have raised concerns over Oakwell but we have 2 choices. Look at Plan B (Oakwell) or even Plan C or throw the towel in now, don't apply for a franchise and drop onto the Championship and in my opinion die a slow (or even quick) death. I know I'm a half glass full person but I'm not for giving in just yet - whilst there still is life there is hope.

Oakwell would only be short term and whilst I can understand peoples concerns look at the positives. Its only 9 miles or so from Belle Vue. Its a SL standard stadium, I'd even go as far to say that there are only around 3 grounds better. We would be making a franchise application with a suitable ground guaranteed for 2012. I also think there is a chance to pick up some Barnsley people who may be interested in RL but also there is a chance that we could play the "expanding into SY" card. I also believe that attendances from away fans would increase due to the curiousity factor but more likely due to superior facilities than we have now. Marketing/Hospitality could increase also due to the better facilities.

I think a temporary move to Oakwell is the only option (apart from Plan c) if we want to try and stay in SL and could work in our favour if managed correctly.

I think you guys are kidding yourselves and truely clutching at sraws. some of you are forgetting you are going to try and rely on 'Plan B' to try and win a licence, what on earth makes you think a plan B would carry as much weight as a plan A - Plan B is theoretical and a means to an end, if there are better placed Plan A's on offer then you stand no chance, IMO!!

i believe the RFL will need to do the right thing by WTWRL and that is do not award you a franchise on the basis of moving to Oakwell. i believe the move to Oakwell will turn into 3+ years and could kill off any chances you have of a future application. the RFL (a kin to the trainer of a boxer struggling in the 11th round) need to throw your towel in for you before you allow yourselves to get in too deep and too hurt. If wakefield miss out on a license this time around, then you can live within your means for 3 or 6 years and build slowly for the future (i.e. get a SL quality ground of your own). i think if you make the move to Oakwell either beit in SL or NL1 then you will be your own executioner. Wakefield historically, struggle for crowds in WF1 so how on earth will you improve or as a minimum maintain your crowds by moving to Barnsley. folk there are, in the main, are not bothered for RL and i would guess after the toekn gestures of free tickets run out they will stop attending and your crowds will be 2-3k a game and who will subsidise your rent?

moving to Oakwell will be commiting suicide in the long run, even if it seems too hard too see now as you firmly believe it will rescue your SL franchise, but i believe that is already as good as gone!!

like i said at the top, how anyone in their right mind believes a plan B carries as much weight as a plan A is beyond me, a plan B that would be acceptable would be play the few games (or a season i.e. saints) at a different venue while your stadium gets finished, if your stadium hasn't even received Planning consent then how can it be seen as a short term plan - surely it will have to be viewed as long term, and the RFL will see through it and see it will be the death of WTWRL by sanctioning such a move!!

It looks like to me that you are the one clutching at straws. All you have done is list worst possible senarios of what would happen if we moved to Barnsley. I can't help but feel that is something to with your own teams vulnerability.

Considering the promises that Wakey, Cas and Salford made in the last franchise application, the RFL are going to be putting a lot of importance on the facilities that any team will be playing in come 2012. Also consider the warning letter that the teams received earlier last year, the RFL will want to show some rock solid proof of stadiums for the start of 2012.

If our board has it in them to pull Barnsley off then I think we will satisfy the RFL something that I'm pretty sure Cas won't be able to do.

Thanks for the concern but you concern yourself about your application and we'll concern ourselves oubout ours.

Its amazing how many 'think they are knowledgable Cas fans' have appeared on here lately ... a word of advice for you all.
You have enough worries, equally as many as ours - maybe even more, for your own Club so concentrate your concerns and vast knowledge on them.

Just remember "he who laughs last laughs loudest and longest"

That's the nub of it and sadly, I don't think it will be managed correctly; maintaining decent crowds during a season at Oakwell will require some very slick marketing - precisely the area of particular weakness at WTW; we're rubbish at it and have been for a long time. I just can't see the current incumbents putting together a strategy that will persuade even regulars to attend Oakwell for a season, let alone attract new interest in the game in S Yorks.

How about enjoying another 3 years in SL & continuing to support the team that we all profess to feel so strongly about...................................................or do we really only have a bunch of fair weather supporters who only want to support the team when we're winning matches, have a good bank balance and have a BoD and coach who doesn't divide opinion????

honestly, not having a go but get real, we go in to sl next time playing away from wakefield we will go bust, simple as that, and your sort of blind faith in the current situation wont help.

ok ill try and make it all disney for you
pooh has gone down to the bridge over the river, but when he gets there he finds his sticks are crap and sink all the time, eyeore and piglet, who have been loyal to pooh after a time get bored and go to the pub, thus pooh has less money to buy more sticks, in the mean time c robin has sold the bridge so when sticks are available theres nowhere to throw them off, except a far away bridge, so piglet and co stay in the pub.
pooh gets all the blame, but at the end of the day no one wants to watch you lose at pooh sticks every single week!

My numbers are a bit of an estimate but lets say rent for last time we were at Oakwell was £14,000 for a one off match. Lets say we can negotiate £10,000 per match rental on a longer term contract = £140,000 per season for 14 home matches. To offset this we offload Belle Vue which rids us of the weekly running costs, rates, power bills etc. Only the club knows what this would save and what the 'net' cost of moving to Oakwell is. The difference has to be found by savings/sponsors new local support.... as TRB says, it has to be made to work or we are stuffed.

What choice have we. No Newmarket for 2012 (maybe 2013) so we need a SL compliant stadium. Belle Vue isn't so if we want to apply for a franchise in 2012 we need Oakwell. If we don't want to go to Oakwell in the short term we don't apply for a franchise and drop into tne Championship - if we do we will go bust, simple as that.

We are caught between a rock and a hard place and I for one would rather apply to stay in SL than give in. If we are to go down then I'd like to go down fighting than wave the white flag.

We have a great deal of problems to resolve, stadium, debts, new investors, on field performances etc. etc. but in my opinion the only way Wakefield Trinity can survive is if we have a SL franchise from 2012. Newmarket is not a guarantee to success but its a start and we can only start with a SL franchise.

If anyone thinks we can drop into the Championship and rebuild and rise from the ashes are in my opionion deluded - the Championship will spell the end of Wakefield Trinity.

Anyway, the decision on our future will be outside all our hands and the Fat Contoller and all his chums at the RFL will decide whether we can play with them or not.

or put it another way we have a cash flow problem now, wherever we go and pay for tenancy makes it worse and we may well have less fans, which makes it worse, down down deeper and down

hope im wrong though

respect your opinions as always
but dont understand how dropping to nl is more dangrous financially than a 3 year pledge to sl at this point?

Because in my opinion what few fans we still have will fall away to under 1,000 and I just think it will be a slow lingering death, poor gates low income, poor team, no investors - viscious circle - until the end. Also where will we play ? We have by all accounts sold Belle Vue (we'll find out more tommorow at the Shareholders Meeting I hope) so we have no home.

I see your point about Oakwell but I genuinely believe that if we are sucessfull with a franchise application based on Oakwell until Newmarket is built for a season the fans will accept this and travel the 9 miles to Barnsley and for all the reasons I have mentioned earlier I think we could make it work. I agree it will not work in the long term but in the short term it can. The Club could put on buses from Wakefield to Oakwell on Match Days and include transport to and from Wakefield in a packaged (subsidised) price.

As I have said we can agree to disagree but the decision on our future will be made by those at Red Hall, not ourselves like it used to be.

So let's see.



Wakefield submit an application based on playing at Oakwell - SL Standard stadium

Cas submit their application based on playing in a stadium at Glasshoughton that hasn't moved on in 3 years.

Why would the RFL believe that Glasshoughton will be ready for 2012? Because Richard Wright said so???


I don't know what will happen but I do know if the RFL look at it honestly (which might be where the problem comes), our application based on Oakwell satisfies the stadium criteria better than Cas's.

nice responce and I hope some chance of a positive conclusion ! Untill there is a 100% answer and definate plan this is a good option in my opinion !

As for it not being working in wakefield and people wont travel up to 10 miles to see their so called beloved team ! ask yourself a question "do yo want us to be in SL or would you like to read in the press that we are no more "? for me , true die hards and supporters will go to any length to keep the flag flying and keep our colours in the right league and well supported !

In short do what you personally can do ! if thats going to Barnsley for a while then so be it and be possitive !!

For a start, where would we play in NL, there's no chance that we could afford to rent any where to play in that division.The only chance we have is going to Oakwell, I cannot see any other alternative but to arrange the next 3 years in Oakwell and hope in the next year we get the nod on Newmarket then a year to build and then move in. I can't see any other way, but to get behind it and try to make it work.